The New Curse of Pain
by TakutoXXX
Summary: This is more of the continuation of Howl's Moving Castle. Enjoy! I do NOT own this movieanime. It rightfully belongs to the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Diana Wynne Jones.
1. Chapter 1: New Dream

**Note: I DO NOT own this movie!! Howl's Moving Castle is rightfully owned by Hayao Miyazaki and Diana Wynne Jones. Please enjoy and comment. Be courtious and not criticize my story, please.**

**Chapter 1: New Dream**

The sun illuminates slowly through the window in front of the bed of a young girl in her early twenties named Sophie. The light grows from the foot of the bed to where Sophie slumbers in her deep sleep. The brightness of the sun made her eyes flinch in the interruption of a warm dream she was having. She refuses to lift her heavy eyelids and continues to sleep by pulling the quilted blankets she knitted over her face.

"The sun always comes up at the proper time, Sophie", said a gentle, manly voice in the room. "It is no use pretending that it is still night."

Sophie's ears and eyes suddenly open and she lifts her head to find a familiar person standing by the window with the sunlight shimmering on his dark sapphire hair. It was her first love, the great wizard, Howl. "H-Howl!" Sophie said while rubbing her eye to wake up. "I didn't hear you come in." Howl chuckles softly, "Well, I tried to be as quiet as I could but you looked like you were already knocked out in a dream or something." Sophie looked down at her blankets in thought. "Well", she said. "I _was_ dreaming. It was a very warm dream really." She smiles and wraps her arms around her knees in comfort. "It was about us." Howl smiles and sits by her bedside, listening. "The castle took us to a place where we've never been before. It was a place filled with stars and beautiful constellations. It was almost like we were in the sky but you could walk on there. It felt so peaceful and you and I were watching the stars shooting past us." Sophie pauses for a moment. "Then", she says. "You suddenly wanted to ask me something…". Howl looks at her in wonder, "And what was that?" Her smile turns in to a frowns. "I-…I don't know. You never asked me. I think that was when I woke up." Howl pats her shoulder. "Well, that's okay." "What?" Sophie asks. He says, "I will maybe someday find out what I wanted to ask you." Howl gives an encouraging smile and Sophie smiles back slightly, still in wonder. Howl draws closer to her. "But, I'll ask you this." He places a hand on her soft cheek. "May I have my "good morning" kiss?" Sophie blushes but smiles, knowing that they are in love after all. "Of course you may." Howl leans forward and plants a kiss on her lips as Sophie kisses him back with passion. As they break the kiss, Howl looks at Sophie. "Well, I'm guessing everyone is already up. We should go make breakfast." She nods and giggles. "Yes, I'm sure everyone was waiting for me to get up." She gets out of bed and throws on her kimono. Howl takes Sophie's hand and escorts her downstairs where everybody is waiting.

"Good morning, Sophie! Good morning, Master Howl!" said Markl, Howl's young apprentice. "Ohaiyo, Markl! Ohaiyo, my dear family!" In the living room, there was an old woman, known as the Witch of the Wastes, the hot-tempered but friendly fireflame, Calcifer, and their dog, Heen, which used to belong to the king's high sorcerer, Suliman . Howl stretches his arms. "Now, how about breakfast, everyone?" The family nods. "Calcifer, ready to cook up some food for us?" Calcifer says with a lazy sigh, "Ok, but be gentle with me, alright? And don't leave that frying pan on me for too long because I can't handle that much weight on me, you know." Sophie rolls her eyes. "Oh, really? Then how come you were able to lift the castle when it collapsed, hm?" she asked smartly with her hands on her waist. Calcifer's flames grew in anger and growled at her, "Hey! Don't get smart with the fire demon here, sister. Or do you not want me to cook for ya?" Sophie holds up her hand to stop. "Alright, alright. Lets get cooking already." She takes out a frying pan and places it on Calcifer's face while she takes out the eggs, bacon and sausage. As she was about to put a strip of bacon on the pan, she stops and eyes at the cunning fire demon. "What ever happened to the "curse of burnt bacon?" she teased. Calcifer snapped, "Fine! Want me to burn your sausage too?!" Sophie laughs. "Kidding! Just kidding! No need to get feisty." She placed the bacon and sausage on the pan and shakes it for them to simmer thoroughly. She takes five eggs, cracks them and put the yolks on pan while feeding the egg shells to Calcifer. As soon as the food was ready, she puts the food on each plate and serves them to everyone. "Bon apetite, everybody!" Sophie smiled as she sits at the table. "Thank you, Sophie", everyone said except for the witch who was staring at Calcifer in amazement. She says sweetly, "Oh, what a pretty fire!" Calcifer says, "You freak me out everyday, lady. Don't push it." The whole family starts to eat their breakfast, especially Markl as he "pigs down" on his food with no manners like always.

Continued in Chapter 2...


	2. Chapter 2: New Land and Life

**Chapter 2: New Land and Life**

**  
**After breakfast, Sophie collected the dishes and silverware and places them in the sink to wash them. Howl helped Sophie with drying the clean dishes. He looks at Sophie as she pulls a strand of her star-light-colored hair behind her ear and he smiled warmly. "So", spoke Howl, "what are your plans for today?" Sophie thinks, "Well, I have to do the laundry. I mean, after all the dangers we've been through, it seems like we have no clean clothes at all!" The two of them laughed, along with Markl as he was wiping off the dinner table. "That would be wise to do", said Howl, humorously. "While you do that, I'll go out to see if the countries cleaned up the mess that the war made. I hope that "our" secret garden is not in ruins." Sophie gives out a little gasp in thought of that. Howl gently places his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Don't worry. I'm sure that it is fine. If it is destroyed, I promise that I will make it beautiful again." He strokes Sophie's hair and shows her an encouraging smile. She smiles back at him. "Okay, Howl." Howl gives Sophie a warm hug and continues helping her with the dishes.

After they were finished, Howl grabbed his coat and walks to the stairs which leads to the door. He looks back at Sophie to say goodbye. Sophie holds his hand and says, "Do be careful, Howl. You never know if Suliman's henchman are still out there looking for you." Howl smiles, fearless. "I'll be alright, Sophie. They can never catch me. Besides, now that Suliman and the king have agreed to stop the war, I think things will quiet down with their search for me." He squeezes her hand slightly. "I'll return back home in the evening. Look after the others, okay?" Sophie smiles, non-worryingly. "Okay." The two loves kiss goodbye and Howl turns the door knob to the right for the black color to appear on the color wheel, opens the door and flies out to wander the lands while Sophie waves from behind, still in hope for his safe return.

"Now, Markl," Sophie says to the young boy. "What say you help Grandma Sophie with the laundry, eh?" Markl makes a confusing facial expression. "But, Sophie", he says with a small chuckle, "You're not old anymore." Sophie looks down at herself, notices that the skin on her hands are not wrinkled and veiny. "Oh, yes. You're right!" Sophie says with a laugh. She completely forgot that she is in her normal age again. She suddenly looks back on the memory of when the Witch of the Waste cast the spell on her that turned her into a ninety year-old woman. Although she could not tell anyone about her curse, she was infuriated by what the witch had done to her. But Sophie smiles, knowing that both hers and Howl's curse are broken. "Nothing can go wrong from now on", she thought. She walks upstairs to gather the dirty laundry and brings them outside of the castle in a big basket. Markl also brings out another basket full of clothes and places it next to Sophie's. A warm, summer wind blows upon their faces with the sun shining bright in the sky with no clouds surrounding it. The grass is as green as the leaves on the trees that are next to the lake. Flowers were blossomed in many beautiful colors and the bees are buzzing happily, enjoying the sweet smell of the nectar in the flowers. Sophie and Markl help each other wash the laundry in the lake with soap, put the clothes line up and tied it from one part of the castle to a tree nearby. As they started to clip the damp clothes on the clothes line with pins, Markl remembered something, "Too bad Turniphead is not here. He used to love doing the laundry." Sophie nods. "Yes, I know. I'm glad that his curse was broken too. Although...I never realized that I was his..."true love"." She blushes a tinge of red on her cheeks and smiles flatteringly. Markl chuckled as she said that. "Yeah, I thought that was amazing." Sophie looks at him. "You think so?" Markl nods at her. "Yes, I think so too", she says.

Suddenly, just as Markl held out a wet shirt for Sophie to hang, she reaches out for it without looking and he looks at the end of her wrist collars. Her left hand was invisible!! Markl gasped. "Sophie!!" Sophie jumps with a startle. "What?" she asked. He pointed at her invisible hand with his index finger shaking in fright. "Y-Y-Your hand is gone!!" Sophie looked confused. "What are you talking about?" She suddenly looked at her left hand and realized he was right! Her hand _is_ gone!


	3. Chapter 3: New Disappearance

**Chapter 3: New Disappearance**

Sophie looks at her invisible hand front and back questionably. "B-But why? I don't understand." Sophie said. Markl quickly grabbed her visible hand and said, "Come on! We got to go back inside and find out why!" Sophie followed him back in the castle and sat down in a chair in front of the fireplace. She continues to look at her right hand with frightful eyes. Calcifer's eyes widen. "Whoah!" he exclaimed. "How the heck did your hand disappear like that?" "I don't know", Sophie replied. "But I hope it wasn't from the soap I used to wash the laundry." She gasps in thought. "You don't think it-" Calcifer interrupts, "No, it wasn't the soap. Howl doesn't create those kinds of soaps that make things disappear. It's got to be something else." Sophie thinks hard to herself, until an old cackling voice appears.

"Do you think it's a part of your curse?...

Sophie, Calcifer, and Markl turn around to see that it was the Witch of the Wastes who spoke. Sophie could not believe what she heard. "What did you say?" The old woman inhaled from her fat cigar and exhaled a big cloud of smoke through her nostrils. "Well, you _did _turn ninety years-old for a reason, right? Then, maybe that curse cast another kind of spell for the same reason", the witch said, while inhaling again in her cigar. Sophie thinks that she could be right. That thought made her very angry because the witch was the one responsible for placing that curse on her. So, she got up from her chair and walks towards her, demandingly. "How much more do you know about that curse?" The witch laughs in her thick, fat neck. "That's all I know about it, dear." Sophie could not take anymore excuses. So she grabbed the witch by her furry neck collar. "Don't play foolish with me. It _is_ your fault for putting that spell on me. Now, answer me!" The witch sighs and says, "I'm telling you the truth. I do not know anymore of it, nor can I break it."

Sophie eyes and mind come to a remembrance. The witch's powers were erased by Suliman when she went to visit her at the palace. She loosens her grip off of the witch's collar and sits back down in her chair. Sophie looks at her missing hand once more. "Now, what do I do?" She places both of her hands on her face in worry. Calcifer suddenly gasps and shouts, "Oh no! Whoah! Oh my gosh! Sophie!! Your other hand! Its gone!!" Sophie suddenly takes hands off her face and looks at both of them and realizes they have both vanished.

"………What is happening to me?!", she asks desperately. Markl looks at Sophie and asked, "Do you think Howl might figure out what this means?" She still looks at her hands and thinks. "I think so. But Howl won't be back until nightfall. We're just going to have to wait." She starts to feel brave. "I'll be alright. Its just two hands. I'm not going to disappear entirely, right?" Calcifer shakes his head. "No, Sophie. I've seen spells similar to this and they don't last very long. You'll have to be extremely cautious about this." Sophie looks at Calcifer, not deserving to hear that. "However", Calcifer remarks, "There are spells that undo curses and Howl _will_ figure out a way because hey! He's a wizard!" Sophie gives a little smile and looks back at her hands. She talks in her mind. "Oh, Howl. Please return quick. If this is a part of my curse, I want to get rid of it completely. I don't deserve anymore of this. I just want to live in a safe life………with you."


End file.
